(Reuters) – Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of Russia’s powerful Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said on Tuesday night that increased military assistance to Ukraine by NATO brings the world closer to World War Three.
Commenting on the first day of the US-led military alliance’s summit in Lithuania, where several countries pledged more arms and financial support, Medvedev said the aid would not prevent Russia from achieving its goals in Ukraine.
“The completely crazy West could not think of anything else…. In fact, it’s a dead end. World War III is approaching,” Medvedev wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“What does all this mean for us? It’s all obvious. The special military operation will continue with the same goals.”
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation,” while Kiev and its allies say Moscow is waging an unprovoked war to seize territory and dominate the neighboring country.
The West says it wants to help Ukraine win the war, and Western powers have already supplied large quantities of modern weapons and ammunition to Kiev.
Medvedev, who presented himself as a liberal modernizer when he was president between 2008 and 2012, now comes across as a fierce critic of the West in the Kremlin. Diplomats say his views give an indication of the thinking at the highest levels of the Russian government elite.
NATO allies offer security guarantees for Ukraine on path to membership
The United States, Britain and global allies were preparing to unveil new security guarantees for Ukraine at a NATO summit on Wednesday aimed at protecting the country from future attacks as Kiev strives to become a member of the alliance.
The prospect of long-term protection from members of the world’s most powerful military bloc comes a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called NATO’s refusal to offer an invitation or timetable for Ukraine’s entry into the alliance “absurd”.
Ukraine has been pushing for quick NATO membership as it fights a Russian invasion unleashed in February 2022 that killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.
Instead, a declaration by the world’s most industrialized G7 countries “will set out how allies will support Ukraine over the coming years to end the war and deter and respond to any future attack,” a British government statement said.
In practice, this would come as bilateral agreements with Kiev on long-term military and financial aid to keep Ukraine’s army and economy running. The G7 is made up of the United States, Germany, Japan, France, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Swallowing his disappointment at the lack of an accession timeline, Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that the results of the summit in Vilnius were good overall and welcomed a series of announcements of new military aid from allies.
However, Zelenskiy pressed for more and said he would raise Ukraine’s need for long-range weapons in a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the summit.
“We can say that the results of the summit are good, but if there was an invitation they would be ideal,” Zelenskiy said.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden would be open with Zelenskiy about the rationale for NATO’s decision on membership.
“He knows that President Zelenskiy has strong views and is not afraid to express those views. And he, President Biden, is also very direct and honest and candid with President Zelenskiy,” Sullivan told MSNBC.
NATO, an alliance built around mutual security guarantees – the concept that an attack on one is an attack on all – has carefully avoided extending any firm military commitments to Ukraine, concerned it could bring it closer to an all-out war with Russia.
Ukraine is deeply suspicious of any less binding security “guarantees,” since Russia’s invasion has already smashed the so-called Budapest Memorandum, under which international powers pledged to keep the country safe in exchange for Kiev giving up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons.
Speaking alongside Zelenskiy, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine is closer to the alliance than ever and ignored fresh warnings from Russia about the consequences of supporting Ukraine.
“Ukraine has the right to choose its own path,” Stoltenberg said, adding, “It is not for Moscow to decide.” Security guarantees for Ukraine have to be “credible”, he said, in order to deter Russia from future attacks.